West U. to consider automated recycling

Updated 3:07 pm, Tuesday, September 6, 2011

West University City Council has decided to take a deeper look into automated recycling, a growing trend where mechanical arms attached to trucks heave recycling carts and dump their contents.

West U.'s Recycling and Solid Waste Reduction Board held an Aug. 22 workshop with the West U. council, recommending that the city move to the automated system. The board said West U.'s recycling rate of 24 percent is below the national average of 34 percent. The board also said West U. has not had yard waste pickup since 2006 and that reinstating it could divert 1,500 tons from the landfill, saving the city $15 per ton.